An Heiress and A Runaway
by AzurexJen S
Summary: AU An heiress and a runaway; plus an heir, a genius and a foreigner. What could go wrong? Rating may change BBRae/Raveast all the way! Will make sure RobStar happens!
1. Chapter 1

**An Heiress and A Runaway**

**Chapter 1, Kidnapped**

**Summary:** An heiress and a runaway; plus an heir, a genius and a foreigner. What could go wrong?

**Disclaimer:** I do NOT own Teen Titans.

**A/N:** I apologize if they're a bit OOC but I'm trying to adjust their personalities to their own individual circumstances. I would love to have some CONSTRUCTIVE critism.

Slowly her eyes fluttered open and drifted to the digital clock on her nightstand; 6:33 am. _Pretty much on time..._ Then to her calendar, Monday, March 15, the first day of March Break; and to her window, the snow from the surprise blizzard was steadily melting into puddles of water.

Rachel Roth allowed herself a small smile. _No school, no annoying, preppy schoolmates, a week of relaxing and reading. Perfect._

Raising her 4" 9 self from her bed, her satin silk purple nightgown falling to her knees. Her black shoulder- length hair and side bangs graciously framing her face. Then made her way to her dresser; picking up her towel and clothes that she had laid the night before. Took a shower and changed into dark, low- rider jeans, a purple long sleeve V- neck and a silver necklace of a raven with spread wings.

As she descended down one of the long, twin staircases; she found her father barking orders at the few maids that they hired. This was what he did every morning; when he was there anyway. Standing by him was a very nervous secretary, trying to jot down everything her father told him.

_Obviously new._ Rachel did not even bother thinking about the last one, as it was common that her father's secretaries changed almost every week.

Walking over to her father she politely greeted him good morning; unaffected by his daunting size and presence. To the secretary's astonishment; even if they were father and daughter, the CEO was a very intimidating.

Tyler Jason Roth was a man of 7"5, with piercing dark blue eyes; he always wore a dark or grey business suit, today's was a velvet navy blue. His black hair was turning a handsome silvery white; his jaw was square and his chin ending at a dull point. He was a very successful businessman, with a nasty temper; he started his own company, the Trigon Trading Industry, and took over several other companies of all kinds. When he was angry many were helpless, fired, some left with shredded pride, hurt emotionally or physically, and at times, both; an intimidating man indeed.

Tyler turned his attention to his daughter, "Good morning daughter. This is Mr. Alexander Reeds," he introduced.

"Nice to meet you Miss Roth," Alexander said offering his hand; Rachel looked at him over a short moment. He was in his late 20s, brown hair, black eyes, a nice face, and a grey suit. "Likewise."

"What are you to do at school today?" Tyler asked as only a doting father could; much to the secretary's surprise his boss always seemed unemotionally attached to anything.

"It's March Break this week, no school; so I'm just going to my study and read since Kory is back home in Romania." Rachel answered in monotone, gesturing upstairs to the room opposite her bedroom.

"Ah yes, then you shall come with me to work." He said with no question in his voice, Rachel sighed inwardly. _There goes relaxing._

*************************************

After breakfast and Rachel's daily herbal tea, they left in a sleek black limo at 8:30 am sharp; sitting in the back, Rachel stared out her window, half listening to her father tell his frantic secretary the changes he wanted in his plans with her now coming along.

"Rachel," Tyler called to get her attention, she turned her head to him. "I only have things to do at two companies today but I cannot miss this afternoon's meeting. You shall have to wait outside until I am done, alright?" She nodded her understanding.

Turning her head back to the changing scenes on the windowpane, she grinned slightly to herself._ Good thing I grabbed my backpack, this could take all day; looks like I get  
to read a bit after all,_ she thought somewhat cheerfully, her grip faintly tightening around the bag with her new hardcover novel and things inside.

They pulled over in the underground parking lot of a tall, 20 story building and the rest of the morning went by smoothly.

"Sir it's 4:00 pm, we should head to the other building for the meeting; a traffic jam is starting up and it's all the way across town. The meeting starts at 5:45 pm, better early than late." Alexander reminded his boss with a small smile. Tyler just nodded his head and wished his head of secretarial department a good day; and led his secretary and daughter to the elevator.

'Ding!' went the elevator and they walked out briskly; then they made their way to the car, Tyler at the front and Rachel bringing up the rear. Just as they reached it, a dark figure grabbed Rachel and put a gun to her throat; and pinned her hands to her side. She flinched and frowned at the human contact.

"Stop," the figure ordered, "turn around slowly."

Rachel watched as they turned to face her attacker; her father's look stoic, while Alexander's was uneasy.

"Drop everything and put your hands behind your head," the attacker continued, and they did as were told, "good. Stay."

She frowned and sighed inwardly to herself in exasperation. _When will these people ever learn?! _She thought annoyed remembering all of the times that this particular situation had happened; as this was the umpteenth time.

Right now she was being led into a car and was shoved into a car as his hostage, a gun still pointed at her and they sped out. Rachel watched as her father and Alexander ran out of the building and tried in fruitless effort to chase after her; then the criminal took her cell phone and broke it in half on the dashboard, both causing her frown to deepen.

She took this time to observe her kidnapper; he wore an all black stealth suit with a matching cap, short, graying dark brown hair sticking out. With black sunglasses and a serious expression pasted on his face.

They darted their way through Jump City to the outskirts of town and stopped by a deserted neighborhood. "One sound and your dead." The figure stated as he pulled her out of the car and pushed her towards an abandoned warehouse; holding her by the back of her shirt, still pointing a gun at her.

She caught his reflection in a dirty window, he looked so arrogant. _ Typical. Kidnapper thinks he won and then something like this happens._

Rachel stopped suddenly and braced herself for impact, her kidnaper bumped into her; lost balance, and stumbled backwards. With her hands free Rachel elbowed him on the nose making him let go and fall; then knocked the gun out of his hand with a roundhouse kick, breaking his hand in the process.

"Aaaargh!" he screamed. Suddenly 4 men rushed out of the warehouse in the same outfit of the man on the ground. Rachel ran swiftly through alleys and narrow, deserted streets; 3 men trailing her only a block away.

She took a sharp turn at a corner and lost them momentarily; just as she was about to pass her 17th or so alley, a large, shadowed hand grabbed her from behind by the mouth and pinned her hands between her and his bodies. "Mmphhh!" she said as she struggled against his grip, but it only tightened.

"Shhh, they're almost gone." His whispering voice said in a deep tone, and she stopped struggling. _What is with people today?! Ugh, I should have stayed home…_

"Wow you run fast…" he said tiredly and rested his head onto her hair.

She could feel herself starting to blush from the physical contact, as well as his calming, rapid heartbeat under his shirt and his warm breath in her ear; he was slightly covered in sweat. Slowly relaxing she pondered the man helping her. _Has he been trailing me or something? Is he one of them? No… if he was he wouldn't be helping me._

The men had long past and he still had not let go, but his hold had loosened. "Mmmph!" she mumbled. _What the hell is wrong now?!_ Rachel thought in exasperation, and bit him hard, drawing a bit of blood; making him let go.

"Ouch!" he yelled. "What the fu- mm?!!" But Rachel's hand quickly covered his mouth, a vein clearly pulsing on her forehead.

"Shut up! Who are you anyway?" she said in a loud whisper, she let go of him, words dripping with venom.

"Yeah, well that's no way to say thanks to your savior." the young man muttered, rubbing his left hand.

Suddenly they heard the men footsteps approaching fast; the boy's eyes widened and he grabbed her hand from his mouth and pulled her deeper into the alleys.

"Over here! After them, don't let them escape!" They heard one of the criminals say.

They were chased into a dead end not long after; and were confronted by 4 men. _Great the other one is back..._ Rachel thought with disdain.

"Shit!" the young man cursed, slamming his fist on the wall.

He let go of her, and got into an expert fighting stance; then motioned for her to step back. "Thank you." She said exhausted and resisted from letting her knees buckle from underneath her. Wiping the sweat from her face with the back of her hand she looked up at him as he stood there ready to fight; looking dashingly handsome, she noticed. Even in the dim lighting in the narrow alley…

He had ear length, dyed- green, slightly spiked hair striped with thin streaks of black but was mixed with dirty blonde from the roots; and striking blue- green eyes; he was about 6"5, his jaw was square and clenched, and even his slightly loose T- shirt showed off his muscled frame._ Wow he is… Damn it Rachel now is NOT the time to ogle at some stranger like some giddy school girl!_ Rachel chastised herself.

The men spread out to block the only exit from the alley and surrounded the young man at the same time; then abruptly launched themselves at him, disgusting, greedy grins plastered on their face.

The young man dodged their attempts with ease, taking on all three of them, fighting like a beast; gave one man a bloody nose with an upper cut, followed by a heel drop kick knocking him out cold. And knocked another unconscious behind him into the wall with a roundhouse kick, and simply punched the other at the temple to put him to sleep. He won without a scratch, except the bite marks on his left hand.

Rachel clapped, wide-eyed at his performance and he took a short bow; after quickly counting the unconscious heaps on the floor, she only found three. "Where's the other one?" she asked in a worried tone.

Suddenly a man jumped out of the shadows with a knife and aimed straight at her.


	2. Chapter 2

**An Heiress and A Runaway**

**Chapter 2, Savior**

**Disclaimer:** I do NOT own Teen Titans. And if there is such a thing as an "Axes and Saws" "I" or "II" movie, then I don't own it.

* * *

Yawning widely he looked at his hotel room's clock, and found it was 12:47 pm. _Woke up pretty early today._ Garfield James Logan thought to himself. Ruffling his mix of long dyed- green, striped with black and dirty blonde hair, he grabbed a new pair of blue jeans and a light green shirt with a dark green outline of a howling wolf; then one of the hotel's towels.

After taking a cold shower, he dried and dressed himself quickly, spiked up his hair with a little gel; and jumped onto the bed, sitting up he snatched his cell phone from his nightstand and pressed 1 for speed dial.

"Victor? … Yeah, I know pretty early for me… Nope, no trouble so far… Just called to let ya know I'm alive and all, haha…" he conversed casually. "Mmm, yeah I know, it's almost my eighteenth birthday… I'll have to show up again soon…" his tone turned grim. "…Yup, I'll make sure to see you then, only about--" he glanced to the calendar; Monday, March 15, "a month to go… Sure, talk to ya later, tell Bee I said hi."

Ending his call he looked at the clock once again, 1:12 pm; sighing, he skipped breakfast and packed up his clothes into a large black backpack with his other possessions, then jammed a hat and sunglasses on; and checked out of the hotel.

Walking around Jump City aimlessly he decided to catch a scary movie, Axes and Saws II. _Awesome! I loved the first one, can't wait!!_

*****************************************

The movie lasted an hour and a half, and all of the people in the audience left wide-eyed, and mouth slightly agape; Garfield left as such, and wandered mindlessly. _Dude… that was… creepy- scary… and the floating head… AWESOME!_

When he came to, he shook his head and wiped the drool off his mouth; looking around he found himself in the outskirts of town; a part he knew very well. _Brings back memories…_ Putting away his cap and sunglasses, Garfield walked around the houses; down the graffiti filled alleys, and emerged at a deserted neighborhood. He slowly continued through it, reminiscing about his past.

He was about to exit another alley when a car suddenly rushed onto the road and screeched to a stop just outside an abandoned warehouse, near the neighborhood. Garfield stopped and narrowed his eyes as a man dragged out a beautiful girl with black hair around his age from the car and pointed a gun at her back; holding her by the back of her shirt.

He watched with amusement when she broke his hand, but it quickly died away when 4 men dressed all in black came out of the warehouse; 3 chased her while the other helped the man with a broken hand back into the warehouse and rushed back outside after them.

Garfield quickly dashed after them with amazing speed and took several short-cuts to get ahead of them. _There is only ONE way she could be headed to if she continues like that._ He guessed, knew this neighborhood like the back of his hand, and he could definitely get there before them. Taking the opposite turn as the girl, he stopped at an alley, catching his breath.

Just when the girl was about to pass the alley, he grabbed her and made sure she couldn't move or make a sound; and that the men were gone.

"Wow you run fast…" he said tiredly.

Garfield let out a sigh of relief into her hair and his nose was immediately filled with the smell of herbal tea and the enchanting scent of lavender; under his hands he could feel her flat yet defined abdomen rising and falling with each of her breath. She was tense at the contact but was somewhat relaxing; her hair and skin were silky soft, and he had thought she was beautiful the moment he saw her. Even with that frown. _A very cute frown._

He mentally slapped himself. _Stupid! You shouldn't have gotten involved! You can't get involved with anybody! Not until your eighteenth birthday… you're so close, don't ruin all that hard work now… all the hiding… the secrecy…_ He shook himself from such thoughts. He, Garfield J. Logan, was already mixed up with this and he would not have it any other way; his parents had raised him this way, and he would help someone in trouble no matter what. And this girl was certainly in trouble.

He set his face to a determined expression, but was distorted when he felt her bite him.

"Ouch!" he yelled. "What the fu- mm?!!" But the girl's hand quickly covered his mouth, a vein clearly pulsing on her forehead.

"Shut up! Who are you anyway?" she said in a loud whisper, she let go of him, words dripping with venom.

"Yeah, well that's no way to say thanks to your savior." Garfield muttered, rubbing his left hand.

Suddenly they heard the men footsteps approaching fast; Garfield's eyes widened and he grabbed her hand from his mouth and pulled her deeper into the alleys.

"Over here! After them, don't let them escape!" They heard one of the criminals say.

In his haste he accidentally led them into a dead end. "Shit!" he cursed slamming right fist down on the wall.

Turning around he saw the men just enter the alley; letting go of the girl's hand he got into an offensive stance, one of the many he knew. Then motioned for her to step back, she gave him a short "Thank you" as the men blocked the exit and surrounded him.

Garfield easily avoided the 3 men's attempts and expertly countered them, and knocked them out. He was so preoccupied with amusement for the three that he did not notice the fourth one sneak away and hide behind an old trashcan in the shadows.

She clapped when he finished with the three, grinning proudly as he took a short bow; but it was long enough for the 4th man to launch himself at her.

"Mother fu-!" he cursed under his breath as he pushed her out of the way and took the stab on his left shoulder.

It was in pretty deep, but he took no notice as he pulled it out and brutally punched the guy in the gut, face and did a heel drop onto his chest, rendering him unconscious; Garfield's eyes flashing with raw anger. _What a sorry excuse for a man! Attacking a woman with a knife and kidnapping her!_ He crossly kicked the man in the side; his breath ragged, and his vision fuzzy from all the blood he was losing.

He abruptly fell on his knees then onto his back, he was having trouble breathing and he could not see very well. Then he was suddenly aware of the girl he just saved frantically bandaging his wound with a large blue handkerchief. "Can I at least now your name?" He asked in a raspy voice.

"Shh… shh, Rachel Roth; yours?" Rachel asked determined to keep her savior awake, even if by talking.

"Garfield… James……. Bestia…" Garfield replied with great difficulty.

"Garfield?" she mused with a cocked eyebrow. "_Bestia"… Latin… "beast," very fitting… _but dismissed it quickly with a shake of her head, "Never mind." _This isn't the time to make fun of the guy who just saved your life Rachel!_

"Just one more question, do you have a cell phone? They broke mine on the way and we need to get you to the hospital."

"No hospitals!!" Garfield suddenly exclaimed with fury in his eyes, grabbing her forearm in a tight hold; almost bruising her with the pressure. His face was dead serious and she could not refuse.

"Ouch! Okay! No hospitals!" she agreed with him quickly with a frown to his hand.

"Right front… pocket…" he said as he fainted and his hand dropped.

Rachel anxiously searched his pocket and called her father. "Dad? Hello?... Yeah I'm OK! Listen a guy got stabbed protecting me and I need you to send for our private doctor and help him… He doesn't want to go to the hospital! Just do it OK?! Oh and call for the cops too we're at…" she continued to tell her father what to do, and he could only comply as she finished bandaging Garfield's shoulder.


	3. Chapter 3

**An Heiress and A Runaway**

**Chapter 3, Waking up**

**A/N:** I just feel compelled to tell you that I will be alternating from "Tyler" to "Mr. Roth" a lot; and sorry if you're offended by what he says, I'm trying to make him a balance of good and bad. I'm just a little bit lost on what happens next, suggestions would be much appreciated.

**Disclaimer:** I do NOT own Teen Titans. Nor do I own Airwalks.

* * *

It was about 6:18 am and Rachel had been sitting anxiously at Garfield's bedside since 5:30 am after breakfast; she had been rendered sleepless with guilt. Feeling that it was her fault that he was injured, _And it is…_ she thought as another pang of guilt coursed through her.

She sat unable to concentrate on reading her new novel as she waited for him to wake up. It had been two days since they took him into the mansion on his insistence that he not be sent to a hospital, which Mr. Roth could only happily comply with as Garfield had saved his daughter.

Deciding to get some herbal tea and a ham sandwich, she rose from her seat and went to the kitchen.

* * *

Garfield woke up with a jolt from the intense pain emanating from his shoulder. Looking around he saw that he was in a white room, on a king-sized mattress, a single chair by the bed. The bed felt like a cloud, tucked into the wall farthest from two doors that were side by side, the bottom of the bed facing them; with satin sheets embracing him warmly. The room was simply decorated, a desk and a closet to the right; a body length mirror between the two doors in the middle; and a glass door to a balcony between windows on the left.

_Where am I? Hmm I think Rachel's… She must at least be a millionaire to afford this…_

Garfield whistled in awe, and listened to the echo. "I'm hungry…" he stated, noticing and patting his now empty and grumbling stomach with his right hand. He stood from the bed completely forgetting about the pain in his left shoulder to pursue much needed food, and noted in the mirror how he had somehow changed into light blue pajamas clearly too big for him. He rolled the sleeves up and lifted the hem of the pants so that his long legs poked out enough from underneath to not trip.

Glancing at the clock, he read 6:23 am. _Hmm, haven't been up this early in a while. _He remembered as he ran his uninjured hand through his hair and smoothed out his messy hair a bit; checking himself in the mirror and became aware of 4 bandages on his left hand's index finger. _Oh right… she bit me._

Chuckling he opened the door to the right side of the mirror, inside he found an extravagant bathroom complete with a bathtub, shower, toilet and marble sink; he just cocked an eyebrow and shut the door. He returned his face to a placid expression and tried the other; on the other side was a beige, brightly lit wide hallway. Smiling slightly, he made his way to one of the twin the staircases to his right.

Downstairs was empty save for a few maids inside open doors, all busy dusting furniture and rearranging things.

Sneaking past them he peeked into another open door, there was no sound but the refrigerator humming. Assuming that no one was quiet enough to be in there without being asleep, he entered and started striding quickly to the fridge; Garfield pulled it open and rummaged through all the meat and condiments, but could not find anything to his suit his diet.

"Isn't there anything that isn't made from animals around here?" he said to himself pouting as he gave the contents a once over again.

"Try the bottom compartment with the veggies." A feminine voice suggested from the table; Garfield nearly jumped out of his slightly tanned skin.

Glancing over his uninjured shoulder at her he saw that she was in a blue T-shirt with snowflakes decorating it and tight, black Capri pants that hugged her hips. "Morning, are you always up this early?" Garfield asked. _Damn she scared me!_

"Good morning, and yes, you?" she asked back

"No. I just woke up early this particular morning." he responded as he pulled out baby carrots and washed them.

"Coffee or toast?" Rachel offered. "Both."

_Why am I acting so friendly around this guy? Well it's a given that he rescued me and all, but still…_ Rachel pondered as she prepared him his food.

"Why were you so quiet? I couldn't even hear you breathing or eating."

"Don't know, just like that I guess. So what do you have against meat?" she inquired as she set down his coffee and toast in front of him then returned to her own sandwich.

"Thank you, and EVERYTHING! I love animals and I refuse to eat anything with or anything that came from something with a face." Garfield answered, eying Rachel's ham and cheese sandwich; Rachel awkwardly put it down from her mouth in half- bite.

"Ehem. Well Garfield, is your last name really Bestia?" she asked with curiosity.

"Yes why?"He asked with caution, which went unnoticed to the Goth in front of him.

"It's Latin right? It means 'beast.' Kind of fitting with the way you fought yesterday." Rachel inquired, remembering the awesome skills he had displayed yesterday.

"Huh?" he said. Though not from being clueless, but from the fact another person knew that. _Fake last name or not, she's quite smart._

"Never mind." She told him, rolling her eyes.

"Uhmm, Rae… Please call me Gar." He pleaded.

"'Rae'?" she repeated with a frown.

"Uhm… Rachel?" he tried.

"Better… Gar." She commented sipping her herbal tea.

* * *

"How are you feeling?"

"I've been better, just a little dizzy from the medicine."

"Well, they had to give you 2 shots of anesthesia and 15 stitches to close the wound; the doctor said that you shouldn't use your left arm for straining activities for about a month. You were asleep for three days." Rachel told him as they entered the room.

"Yeah, alright. What day is it?" Gar muttered with disdain; sitting down on the bed, he looked up at Rachel who was leaning against the desk. "And where's my stuff?"

"Today is Friday, March 19; your bag is in the closet with your clothes, that we washed; and I put your cell phone the stuff from your pockets into the first drawer of that desk." She informed him, gesturing to the closet door and drawer.

"Thank you."

"No, thank you!" A deep booming voice came from the door way. Rachel turned to see her father walking towards her and Gar.

"Good morning father."

"Good morning all."

"Good morning sir. Thank you for letting me stay here." Gar said gratefully and offered his undamaged hand; Mr. Roth shook it and they locked eyes, both sizing up each other. _Hmm, quite intimidating; I hope whoever his son-in-law is has a backbone for his own sake._ Gar mused to himself.

_A good man; makes eye contact; firm shake; straight posture; and a damn good fighter if what I've been told is true, but still street trash._ Tyler listed to himself.

She sweat dropped but Rachel was honestly impressed that Garfield was not so intimidated by her father. _A minute with him usually sends a guy home shaking._

"How are you feeling?" Tyler asked with some concern to the young man, letting go of his hand.

"Fine, just a bit dizzy." Gar said rubbing the back of his head gingerly.

"Tell me how old are you?"

"Eighteen this year sir."

"Ah, same age as Rachel then."

"Is that so? Well, thank you for your hospitality sir but I must go, I have business to prepare for in a couple a weeks." Garfield explained.

"Oh is that so, may I ask where?" he asked but Gar stayed silent.

"Well why don't you stay here? We are at your service, and you wouldn't have to pay for anything," Tyler reasoned but continued before Gar could argue, "I also wish to repay all my debts and I am in great debt to you." _Brat, just agree so I can get this over with. Savior or not, I don't want some poor delinquent with green hair who hangs out at deserted neighborhoods around my daughter. This reminds me, I shall have to conduct some background research on this boy._

_Think Garfield! Think! You can't stay! C'mon, you already played the hero and we can't afford to get anymore absorbed in this! The last time you stayed that bitch Terra sold you out for money!_

"Please Gar; I would also like to express my gratitude to you." Rachel pleaded. _How unusual for me…_

Gar noticed her enchanting amethyst eyes for the first time and found he could not look away; but with straining effort he manage to tear his gaze and look at the her father.

"Alright…" he said unwillingly; but how could he refuse a beautiful girl offering him hospitality. _Damn! She just had to be stunning!_

"But I wouldn't want to impose…"

"Nonsense, you may stay as long as you wish. As far as I'm concerned you saved my daughter and I like your attitude; and if what I've been told is true then you've proved yourself a good man." chuckling Mr. Roth patted him on the shoulder with a heavy hand but kept his gaze. "Oh yes, how silly of me; my name is Tyler Jason Roth. I don't believe Rachel mentioned your name." Rachel blushed slightly and looked to the floor.

Joining his chuckle Garfield introduced himself, "My name is Garfield James Bestia, nice to meet such a great business man such as yourself." He said with a grin.

"Ah so you know about my business ventures?"

"A bit."

"Hmm, we shall need to call your guardian to tell them that you're okay. They must be ill with worry for you."

"Yes I'll do it myself in a little while."

"Perfect and from the look of your clothes it would seem you will need new ones… Rachel why don't you take him shopping after everything is sorted out? It's still March Break, right?" Rachel just nodded, and both left him to call his "guardian."

"You can take a shower then call them; we'll be waiting in the kitchen when you're done. You'll also need a sweater; it's a little windy outside."

Quickly snatching his cell phone and belongings from the drawer and closet, Garfield pressed 1 for speed dial.

"Victor? …Yeah I'm okay… Ah actually I rescued this girl from some kidnapers and ended up getting stabbed and sleeping for three days…" Garfield had to move the phone away from his sensitive ears to be able to bear the screaming voice from the other end. "Look I I'm gonna stay with her for a bit, it's like mansion… Her name is Rachel Roth, you can look her up… Told her 'Bestia'… Yeah yeah I know, corny. Whatever. See ya man, I gotta call Richard too." He ended the call and pressed 2.

"Richard? …Yeah it's me. Listen I'm in Jump City and I somehow ended up saving Rachel Roth from some kidnappers and staying with her; I need to ask you a favor." Once again he had to pull the phone away from him. "Yes, yes; but seriously I think her doting father will look me up, can you help make sure he stays on track? …Awesome, okay… Bye." And with that he dumped all his things on the bed.

A shaving kit, tooth brush, a hat and sunglasses, wallet, gel, 6 sets of clothes, 3 sweaters, underwear and socks, and 3 notebooks; a laptop, some discs and a USB, a bag of chips, and a photo of a blonde child and his parents with a lush green forest as a background. Garfield smiled sadly at it and put inside the bag with everything else except a set of clothes, his laptop, USB, a shaving kit, tooth brush, gel, and a hoodie.

Starting up the laptop and plugging in the USB, he quickly began typing and rearranging a file called "The Runaway." Then shut it off, stuffed it back into the bag and placed the bag back into the closet; taking with him his remaining possessions, he entered the bathroom and took a quick shower.

Drying himself off with a towel placed beside the sink, he changed into a blue shirt with sleeves slightly past his elbows, a black eagle soaring in it; and baggy blue jeans. He brushed his teeth, spiked up his hair a bit, grabbed his bag and his green, vertical black striped zip- up hoodie and walked toward the kitchen; bidding blushing maids good morning at the sight of him.

"Everything is all set." Garfield announced as he entered, "Again, thank you for your hospitality."

"It's no problem, oh and father had to go to another meeting." Rachel told him from the table. She had on an unzipped dark blue hoodie with little white crossbones decorating it, underneath was a dark purple short- sleeve covered in silver words; she had loose dark blue jeans and black Airwalks.

"So when are we going?" Garfield asked taking a seat opposite of her.

"After eating." she said and handed him a gourmet mushroom soup, steaming hot Lasagna, and 3 chocolate trifles in separate plates. "Don't worry they're all vegan friendly." She assured him, trying to hold in giggles when he eyed them with caution; then returned to her own Lasagna. Garfield let out a sigh of relief and ate the soup first; as soon as it touched his mouth his eyes widened.

"This is awesome! My complements to the chef." He remarked and continued to stuff his face with the gourmet.

"Thank you, it wasn't that hard to make them," Rachel said blushing.

"You made this? I should have known; that toast was delicious." he complemented grinning widely.

"Toast?" She repeated cocking an eyebrow but dismissed it with quick shake of her head.

A few bowls of soup later Gar suddenly asked, "What's your favorite color?" Rachel just arched an eyebrow.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Just thought I might as well get to know the girl I saved; since I'm gonna stay here." He replied shrugging.

"Blue. Yours?"

"Green. Hobbies?"

"Reading, track and poetry."  
"Pranks, movies, sports. High school?"

"Jump City Private School, you?"

"Actually I was gonna apply to that school for my stay here."

"Great, as long as you don't mind preppy school brats." Rachel said sarcastically.

"Well it can't be that bad with you there." She blushed a pretty shade of pink. _ He's flirting with me…?_

"Birthday?" Garfield continued smirking.

"Ugh…March 21." She hesitated.

"June 21; congratulations, how old will you be?"

"Eighteen. You?"

"Same."

"Didn't we go over this already?"

"Yup." And they fell into a comfortable silence.

* * *

After a few minutes Rachel asked with apprehension, "Gar… Can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Ask away!"

"Why were you there?" Gar looked up from his 2nd plate of Lasagna with such a solid, cold look like a smooth metal plate; that Raven had to hold back shivers. His eyes that were so expressive yet secretive before were now completely emotionless. _Weird…_

"I saw a movie and ended up wandering around the neighborhood mindlessly; then I saw you being dragged out of the car, break the guy's hand and get chased. So I decided to help you and ran ahead of you, shortcuts, and the rest is history." He finished somewhat lamely.

"Okay…" Rachel drawled, "How'd you know about the shortcuts?" He stayed silent. "Well, where'd you learn to fight like that anyway?"

"I took lessons with a friend." Gar answered dazed like he was reminiscing memories; his eyes back to their expressive yet guarded state. _I like him better this way; guess I touched a sore subject… I'm just going to leave at that._

After leaving him to his thoughts for a few moments, she decided to try and lighten the mood, "Hmm, well how do you like the Lasagna? I had to look up a vegan friendly recipe."

"Delicious!" he exclaimed and Rachel couldn't help but giggle a little at his sudden outburst.


	4. Chapter 4

**An Heiress and A Runaway**

**Chapter 4, **

**Disclaimer:** I do NOT own Teen Titans.

**A/N:** "OMFG!" That's what I thought when I checked out how many hits I had in one day! I'm very happy, which is why I'm going to give you this next chapter so soon. A review would be nice though, it let's me know how I'm doing; but it's great to know that people read my story!

I'm just a little bit lost on what happens next, suggestions would be much appreciated.

Credit goes to Somewhere In Time for the grammar checks for the other chapters. Thank you very much; and if anyone else thinks they saw something I should fix then it would be welcomed with open arms.

* * *

Glancing at the clock Rachel saw that it was 1:18 pm when Garfield finished his lunch and they started getting ready. "So where are you going to take me?" Gar asked.

"Don't know, Kory is the one who usually drags me to the mall." She replied dryly.

"Who's Kory?"

"My best friend, she went back to Romania for March break." She told him as they made their way to the door.

Just as Rachel opened the door, she was tackled by a red- pink-white blur backwards onto Gar who caught her but ended up falling flat on his back with them on top of him. When Gar opened his eyes and raised his head after the impact he found a hysterical gorgeous, tanned foreigner hugging the life out of the dark beauty; who was turning her own favorite shade of blue.

The foreigner was wearing a pink blouse, white pants and slip- on shoes; she had an hourglass figure like Rachel but more defined. He could tell even from his angle that she had charming emerald- green eyes and an attractive face.

"Oh thank goodness that you are okay! IrushedhomeyesterdayassoonasIheardaboutwhathappened!" She paused to take a deep breath. "Are you okay?! Are you well?! Did they hurt you?!" she was now frantically searching Rachel up and down; who was greedily breathing in the air.

"Kory! What the hell was that?! I swear you almost snapped my neck off!" Rachel complained to her best friend.

"I'm sorry friend but I was just so worried! I could not wait another minute; so are you well?" the girl asked with worried eyes. Gar just let them work it out while he lied back down and closed his eyes.

"Yes I'm okay, just watch your strength you almost suffocated me to death again." Rachel sighed in exasperation. "Can you get off us now?"

"Us who?" she asked in an innocent tone.

"The injured guy you're lying on top of." Rachel deadpanned.

"Oh dear! I'm so sorry! Are you alright?!" she panicked and picked up Rachel and Gar with ease and looked him over.

"Yes I'm fine. It's alright." He said in surprise then started chuckling. "Quite the strength there, Kory I presume?" Kory just nodded and blushed looking down. Rachel couldn't help but giggle quietly at her best friend's reaction.

"Hey Kory, thanks for coming; this is Garfield James Bestia, he's the one who helped me; Gar this is Kory Anders," she introduced. "Nice to meet you," Gar said offering his hand.

"The pleasure is all mine! Thank you Garfield for helping friend Rachel!" Kory responded, shaking his hand enthusiastically. "It was nothing; please call me Gar."

"Kory could you… uhmm could you do me a favor?" Rachel asked reluctantly.

"Of course, anything you wish!"

"We're going to the mall to get him some new clothes; his are kind of bloodstained… could you help u--" Rachel was interrupted by Kory's squealing and jumping up and down. "I'll take that as a yes."

And they were dragged to a silver mustang by Kory who was still jumping with joy. "You guys make awesome best friends; you balance each other out." Gar said to Rachel as Kory rushed to the driver's side outside.

"Yes we do," Rachel nodded; a ghost of a smile on her lips.

"Oh I know the perfect store for him!" Kory announced revving up the car and drove off to the mall.

* * *

Rachel looked at her wrist watch, 3:48 pm. They had been dragged from store to store for 2 hours and 18 minutes. Kory pushing Gar into changing stalls with mountains of clothes, and her occasionally; using her father's credit card for the shopping spree. Much to Gar's discomfort who insisted that he had his own and did not need it; but she argued back that he would "spare no expense." _Whatever it probably wouldn't even scratch the limit on his credit card; if it has a limit._

She had had enough. "Kory." She said warningly to the girl pushing Gar into a changing room with 10 sets of clothes. "I think we've bought enough."

"Really?"

"Really; in fact I think we bought too much," Rachel replied gesturing to the 20 or so bags for Gar and 7 bags for her, forced by Kory of course. Gar sighed with relief, putting back the clothes; and grabbing 10 bags from his pile with his uninjured hand. Kory with 6 or 8 on each hand and Rachel with her 7.

"Can we drop these off at the car and get something to eat?" Gar pleaded.

"Yes please!" Kory agreed, while Rachel nodded.

"By the way I'm a vegan so…" Gar informed Kory.

"Oh is that so? We'll pick somewhere suitable." She responded, nodding thoughtfully.

After dropping of the bags; Gar continued to notice the envious looks that the male shoppers and clerks were throwing at him as they made their way out of the mall, while they gazed lustfully at the 2 beauties that he was trailing. _They probably don't even notice these guys… _He thought humming an innocent tune and smirking to himself; but feeling slightly territorial and protective, unusually so especially for his hostess. He gave warning looks to the men who were brave enough to even try and approach the girls; each shrinking back at his glare.

They entered a popular Café called Starfire, the girls were immediately greeted and ushered to a table; him being dragged with them. "Good afternoon Ms. Anders, what have you come for today? A surprise inspection from your father?" the manager came and greeted her politely, then questioned her with apprehension.

"Oh no, no; just came for something to eat." Kory explained smiling brightly at him, the man sighed in relief and smiled back. "Well what would you like?"

"Hmm, I would like a plate of Linguine and a tall glass of ice tea; oh yes, do you have anything for my vegan friend?" Kory asked, then turned to a confused Gar and told him, "You may order anything you want."

"Of course, we have a new tofu menu." He replied handing an excited Gar the menu.

"In that case, I'll take a Cheesy Lasagna and a Coke please," he ordered smiling widely after taking a minute to look through it.

"I'll have herbal tea and an apple crumbles," Rachel put in; after the man left with their orders she turned to Gar.

"Didn't you have Lasagna for lunch?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Yes, it was delicious; but I want more." he answered drooling at the thought of the gourmet dish.

"So what did he mean by your father?" he inquired.

"Hmm? Oh my father owns the Starfire Cafés." Kory replied casually.

"All 127 of them?"

"Yes."

Gar stayed silent for a moment but dismissed it with a shake of his head and smiled; he was about to say something but was interrupted when a young man with jet black, spiked hair came dressed in a yellow T-shirt, a red- green hoodie, black jeans and sunglasses. Kory was staring and blushing at the same time, mouth slightly agape. The guy stared back at her slightly mirroring her expression but quickly regained his composure.

"Garfield, I need to speak with you." He said in a calm yet urgent voice.


	5. Chapter 5

**An Heiress and A Runaway**

**Chapter 5, Desire**

**Disclaimer:** I do NOT own Teen Titans.

**A/N:** It was somewhat difficult to explain what Richard does and still make him sound like a reader but it was an awesome experience anyway! ENJOY!

One more thing, sorry if I offended anyone who likes Tera; I'm really pretty platonic with her character. I just reeeeaally needed her to move the plot onwards. Okay, NOW enjoy!

* * *

Rachel was getting very annoyed; she could not help but notice the envious looks that women gave her and Kory, or how lustful they looked at Gar. _They're really starting to get on my nerves! Wait! Why do I even care?_ However despite her thoughts she possessively gave death glares to the women who dared to approach; none made it past her fierce stare.

As soon as they entered the usual restaurant and were seen, they were ushered to their usual seat at the window and ordered.

"Hmm, I would like a plate of Linguini and a tall glass of ice tea; oh yes, do you have anything for my vegan friend?" Kory asked, then turned to a confused Gar and told him, "You may order anything you want."

"Of course, we have a new tofu menu." He replied handing an excited Gar the menu.

"In that case, I'll take a Cheesy Lasagna and a Coke please," he ordered smiling widely after taking a minute to look through it.

"I'll have herbal tea and an apple crumbles," Rachel put in; after the man left with their orders she turned to Gar.

"Didn't you have Lasagna for lunch?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Yes, it was delicious; but I want more." he answered drooling at the thought of the gourmet dish.

"So what did he mean by your father?" he inquired.

"Hmm? Oh my father owns the Starfire Cafés." Kory replied casually.

"All 127 of them?"

"Yes."

Gar seemed surprised for a moment she noticed, but quickly shook his head and started to say something; but was interrupted when a handsome young man came. The guy and Kory shared a mutual moment of acknowledgement and blushing; but the young man regained his composure quickly. He had a natural air of charisma and leadership about him; he stood tall and proud but anxiousness reflected on his features.

"Garfield, I need to speak with you." He said in a calm yet urgent voice; Gar frowned and told them, "I'll be right back."

"That was weird," Rachel commented, eyebrows knitted together, turning to Kory who was still staring dreamily at the spot where Gar's acquaintance was.

"Hello? Kory? You okay?" she said with amusement, waving a hand in front of her best friend's face; who was in a dazed trance. She snapped twice and Kory came to immediately; her head whipping back from Rachel's hand.

"So I take it you like the guy?" she asked smirking, Kory blushed a pretty shade of crimson and nodded looking down embarrassed.

"He- he is very handsome, do you know who he is?" she inquired looking back up at Rachel.

"No, I don't know him; we can ask Gar when he comes back." She replied still smirking, and leaned back in her chair.

"Oh yeah, Gar is transferring to our school after March Break; just thought I'd let you know so you won't freak out later."

"Glorious! We shall have a marvelous time!" Kory exclaimed, her eyes turning a bright green from joy.

"So how was Romania?"

"It was fabulous! We sailed down Danube Delta, the scenery was absolutely stunning; we saw foxes and tortoises, it was splendid! And..." Rachel smiled as Kory continued to replay her vacation to her.

* * *

Garfield frowned and stood up, "I'll be right back." He said to the confused girls.

They went to the men's washroom, started checking if anyone was there and locked the door; once satisfied that they were alone, Garfield turned cold and furious eyes to the other young man.

"What the hell are you doing here Richard?" he asked anxiously.

"I was on my way to Roth Manor for you but I saw you outside through the window. Something has come up, they've tracked you through Tera and an unknown source; I've managed to lead them off track for a bit back to Steele City. But we need to come up with something fast." Gar suddenly turned panicked and started to pace frantically.

"Damn that bitch!" he cursed. Then took out his laptop and worriedly started typing; screens and windows popping in and out; and stopped at 'Access Denied'. "Shit! They changed the passwords!"

"Garfield call Victor and tell him to hack their systems again, we need to know what they're doing; we have to at least keep them out of the city. Now!" Richard ordered through gritted teeth, fists clenched; Garfield just nodded and in one fluid motion flipped opened his phone, pressed 1 and put it to his ears.

"Victor! Listen they're on my tail… Yes through Tera… and someone else," he said grimly, "… They changed the password too, Richard wants you to hack them and keep them out of Jump City… Fine. Yeah, I'll stay put... Bye, good luck." Then shut his phone.

"Alright, he's on it." Garfield relayed to Richard who was now pacing back and forth; hand on chin, elbow resting on hand and eyebrows knitted together thoughtfully.

"You'll have to remain hidden; unnoticeable…" He suddenly turned to the now frantic Gar, "We stick to the plan; you are to remain inconspicuous in your time in high school, if anyone asks why you moved so late just tell them that you were supposed to be there a month ago but there was a problem selling your house." Gar nodded, slowly calming down. "Stay calm, remember calm; we're going to stick with the plan, Rachel Roth wasn't part of it but I'm sure you can get around that. She goes to Jump City Private School as a senior; ask her to keep the fact that you rescued her, a secret."

"You took care of the media?" Gar asked now manageably calm.

"Her father has been pulling strings to quiet the media, so it wasn't much of a problem; I just closed the loops that he missed. That's all there is, be careful; bye." Richard informed him, turning to the door.

"Wait," Gar said with a sudden grin, "Rachel will ask about who you are; especially Kory, the girl you were ogling, what am I supposed to tell 'em?" Richard turned slowly a slight blush to his cheeks.

"First of all, I was **NOT** 'ogling' anyone; second, tell them… the truth," Gar made an astonished face, "not the whole truth of course." He quickly continued, "Tell them the part about me transferring to Jump City Private School; how we're friends and that I wanted to know what happened." Once again he turned to leave but was stopped by Garfield's next words.

"Want to come with me back to the table?" he teased; now Richard seemed to be struggling between desire and common sense.

"Okay!" he said a little too excitedly; obviously desire won.

* * *

**A/N:** Who are "they"? How will high school go? Will Rachel and Kory find out? Will Kory and Richard hook up? What about Gar and Rachel? Will I ever shut up?

lol Okay, how did you like it? Please tell me? R&R! I love reviews! Hmm... how about a game? If anyone can guess what number I'm thinking of between the number 1- 50 then I'll absolutely update the day after.

**Rules:**

No second guesses,

Just one number,

Has to be exact,

Obey rules!

Have fun! Laterz,

Luv Jen.


	6. Chapter 6

**An Heiress and A Runaway**

**Chapter 6, Meeting New People**

**Disclaimer:** I do NOT own Teen Titans.

**A/N: **Okay Somewhere in Time has brought up a good point and I'm sorry if it confused anyone; she wrote:

"Why is the first half of the new chapter not...new? You confused me there for a moment, thought I'd missed something."

The reason for that is I wanted to put both Gar's and Rachel's perspectives; plus it was a great way to start the chapter and show what Rachel and Kory were doing while the boys were talking. ALright that's pretty much it; just wanted to address it to avoid more confusion.

**Chapter is dedicated to my new Beta Reader: Somewhere In Time,** who totally saved this chapter from being confusing 'cause I wrote it half asleep. lol

* * *

The boys strolled back to the table; Rachel saw the expertly hidden lovesick expression for Kory on the other young man's face but it could not evade her observant eyes. She smirked slightly to herself and looked over to Gar; they shared a knowing look and both turned to their respective friends. Who were stealing glances at each other; catching each others eye and abruptly turning away. Then back at each other, smirking even wider.

"Ahem," Gar cleared his throat to gain their attention, "girls this is Richard Grayson; one of my best friends." Richard offered a hand to Kory and she shot up from her chair shaking his hand with a blush.

"This is Kory Anders," Gar gestured to Kory, "and this is Rachel Roth." He motioned towards Rachel, Richard offered her a hand; she looked at it, then Richard, to Gar. Who gave her a charming smile to get her to take his friend's hand, back to Richard, and reluctantly took his hand.

"Nice to meet you both," he smiled.

"Please would you join us?" Kory asked enthusiastically looking at Richard, who blushed, "If it's okay with Rachel." Kory then turned to Rachel expectantly.

"You may." She replied in monotone. Gar and Kory smiled gratefully at her; getting Richard a chair, they all sat down.

"Here we are," the waiter announced with a smile, setting down their orders. "What would you like?" he asked turning to Richard.

"A large Espresso please," he replied; the waiter nodded, went and came back with a tall, steaming cup of coffee.

"What was wrong? You sounded kind of… hurried." Rachel asked the new occupant. "Well…" he paused to take a sip of his hot beverage, "I was more concerned; I wanted to know what happened to him, he was missing for about a week."

"Of course," she nodded, accepting the completely logical answer. "So are you new in town as well?"

"I've been here a couple of times; I went to Jump City Private Elementary, then to Gotham. I'm transferring to Jump City Private High School."

"Why are you guys transferring so late in the year?"Rachel inquired, eyebrows furrowed.

"Oh we had some trouble selling our house; we shared it with my other best friend, he's coming as well. He just has to finish up the deal or whatever."

Gar casually answered for the both of them, Rachel just nodded her acknowledgment.

* * *

Walking up to the door Rachel turned to her friends and like the unusually out of character, sociable (enough), hostess that she was; invited them in. Inside they were greeted by bustling maids, party planners and her father barking orders once again. Alexander was helping the men move furniture and massive decorations; his blazer hanging on the coat rack.

_Oh right… I almost forgot… almost. _Rachel groaned.

"Father! The party isn't for another day!" she complained storming over to her father. He looked down at his daughter and calmly explained, "Even so my dear daughter; you know how I hate last minute things."

Rachel gave an exasperated sigh, and Tyler turned to the 3 other teenagers at the door; his eyes lit up when he spied Richard looking around. Then quickly striding to him, he offered his hand, "Hello Mr. Grayson, how is your father?"

"Oh he's fine, thank you; I'll tell him you asked. "Richard said smiling politely, like a business man at his superior.

"Did I miss something?" Rachel asked skeptically; but was ignored. She frowned and walked to her best friend who was just as confused; while Gar just stood, calmly observing the staff, waiting for his own best friend to finish his conversation.

"Do you know each other?" Rachel spoke up again and asked the two men in question.

"Hmm? Oh, yes; his father is a very important business partner, Bruce Wayne. You would have met him," he gestured to Richard then continued calmly, "if you had come with me to that gala last year."

"Which one?" Rachel scoffed, "You know how I **hate parties**." She had said the last two words with such loathing that it caught Gar's attention from checking out the maids. (A/N: Ya I know just bear with me; Beast Boy may seem more serious now but he's still a normal, goofy teenager on the inside.)

"That reminds me; would you young men like to attend Rachel's formal birthday party this Sunday?" Tyler asked the boys.

"Sure."

"Okay."

Rachel turned to them.

"You don't have to if you don't want to." She told them.

"Rachel really dislikes those parties; I had had to drag her out for dress-shopping for this party." Kory whispered to Gar.

"It's no big deal," Garfield said shrugging, then turned to Richard, "Can you lend me that tux?"

"The dark navy blue one or the black one?"

"… Navy blue please." Gar replied after thinking for a moment.

"Alright."

"Hurray!" Kory cheered.

"Brilliant! Then Rachel would take them around for a tour? I don't think you had time to show Gar around yet; he's going to need to know where he is allowed if he is to stay with us." Tyler requested from his daughter, Rachel only nodded tiredly.

"Glorious! You are going to stay here?!" Kory asked Gar excitedly; he took a step back from the hyper foreigner and nodded.

"Oh then may I stay Mr. Roth? It would be splendid to have a slumber party! Oh would you like to attend as well Richard? Only if Mr. Roth gives permission and doesn't mind of course." Kory exclaimed, turning pure, pleading eyes to Tyler and Richard; they sweat dropped under her innocent stare. Rachel smirked at this, _Hmm~ Good old Kory._

"Okay… but only with Mr. Roth's permission." Richard replied hesitantly; blushing at the invite.

"… Alright… but be sure to actually get some sleep; and I trust that this "party" will stay… appropriate." Tyler said reluctantly; the 4 teenagers blushed at his comment and just nodded their understanding. He then turned and started bellowing orders once again. _I trust Richard Grayson, he is a fine young man… perfect for Rachel. Though he seems to have some chemistry with Kory Anders; no matter, Rachel has many suitors. Garfield on the other hand…_

_**Flashback…3 hours ago…**_

Tyler Jason Roth had hired one of the best detectives in the country to look for background info on Garfield James Bestia and had just gotten the full report; which was really a summary of Garfield's life in 1 heavy yellow folder. Tyler was sitting in his office chair blinds down, only a small portion of the sun's rays shining through; darkening the vast room.

_Hmm, I see. Grades: teetering on average, Sports: Soccer, forward; Basketball, point guard; Football, running back. Orphan, was helped financially by Richard Grayson 2 years ago… Interesting… Best friend…s: Victor Stone and Richard Grayson._

_Living status: Works part- time occasional and helps Richard Grayson as a gopher and so on. Lived at a house with his best friends and was suppose to move to a 3 bedroom apartment with them to Jump City from Steele City and was to transfer to Jump City Private High School with them but had some trouble with the buyers._

_Overall: Normal jock who is coincidentally an orphan._ Satisfied with the conclusion, he put the information inside the 2nd bottom- left drawer of his work desk; and locked it. Then reached out and snatched up a printed paper to inspect, sign and get over with.

_**End of flashback…**_

_… Hmm, I suppose they'll be fine there're plenty enough maids to stay and supervise._ "NO! That goes upstairs! And put that up on the ceiling! Alexander go and get me some coffee! NOW!" He roared the orders. Meanwhile the 4 teenagers were climbing the left of the twin staircases and were idly chatting about who knows what, he observed.

* * *

**A/N:** Yeah I know, doting parent... lol. Oh yes, I'm ignoring my little brother if he reads this and puts up an annoying review! We'll see.

lol You other guys can ignore that little ramble but if he does... well... we'll see, we'll see. -smiles mischievously- ;)


	7. Chapter 7

**An Heiress and A Runaway**

**Chapter 7, Even  
**

**Disclaimer:** I do NOT own Teen Titans OR any game console brands; they each belong to their own respective company.

**A/N:** This was written more as a spur of the moment thing but it's true to the plot. Oh and I don't know a thing about their birthday dates so I improvised. I had to look up a ton of things but I like the result. Oh and all the **RobStar** fans reading this will be jumping with joy after that little... "event."

Also I realize my mistake with their heights, so to fix that:

**Raven/ Rachel Roth– Age 18 **(there's one more day so I figured)**:** 5'5"

**Beast Boy/Garfield James Logan/Gar– Age 17** (1 moth to 18)**:** 5'9"

**Starfire/ Kory Anders- Age: 19:** 5'8"

**Robin/ Richard Grayson- Age 19:** 5'10"

Other people will be described in the story as it progresses.

*** My bad!** Yup ugh... little mistake... sorry!!

* * *

"This is my room, and that's my study." Rachel stated as they came to a stop at the first two doors of the hallway on both sides.

She was at the head of the group, Gar was behind her and Richard and Kory brought up the rear.

"Gar's room is that one," she said gesturing to the room beside her study.

"By the way Gar," she called his attention, "make sure you always close your doors; the maids clean up the rooms that have the doors open."

"Haha, he's so messy he'll probably have to keep it open every single day." Richard laughed while Gar pouted and glared.

Kory giggled; Rachel just kept walking, trying to hide the amused smile on her face.

"Kory you can take the guest room beside my room, and Richard can take the one beside Gar's; the bathroom is the one opposite to your door. You won't need to share since I believe Gar's room has its own attached to it. Kory and I will share the one in my room. Come this way," Rachel pointed to a stair case at the end of the hall. "Each wing has two floors."

They continued the tour and soon they cleared the entire east wing. Gar was slightly confused; they had not seen a room that was not a bedroom, guestroom or bathroom.

"No offense or anything, but are there other rooms other than bedrooms or guest rooms?" he questioned.

"The east wing and the top of the other wing are really just for living accommodation; the left wing's bottom floor has entertainment and whatever." Rachel said in monotone.

"Oh."

"Richard if you don't mind my asking how old you are?" Kory asked innocently.

"19, I was born on August 5th," he responded casually.

"I'm 19 as well! I was born on October 4th," she cheerily told him. Richard smiled warmly at her, making her blush and look away. However being… distracted, she tripped over her own feet and started to fall face first onto the luckily carpeted hallway floor; she waved her hands in panic and shut her eyes tight, getting ready for the impending injury.

But strangely, it never came; all she felt was strong, warm arms around her waist, and a cool breath on her neck; she smelt the faint scent of aftershave and an enthralling aroma of the sea coming from behind her. Opening her eyes warily, she instantly saw her shadow on the carpet engulfed by a strapping one.

"Are you okay?" Richard's concerned voice asked worriedly beside her ear, causing pleasant shivers through her spine.

Kory nodded meekly, putting her hands on his arms to support herself and turned her head towards his voice… unexpectedly touching lips. They stood still as stone; frozen awkwardly, Kory entangled within Richard's sturdy arms, protectively around her. Both were wide eyed and all were stunned speechless.

Gar, who had seen everything from Richard swiftly catching Kory with all the poise and grace of a bird, to the surprise lip-to-lip contact, started snickering, then laughing… then started rolling on the floor. Even Rachel had to laugh at their faces, as she caught sight of Kory falling and then accidentally kissing her obvious crush; to their now astonished faces.

Richard and Kory instantly jumped away from each other's arms at the sound of their friend's laughter, both blushing a pretty scarlet and smiling down nervously with embarrassment. Yet their eyes twinkled dreamily as they stared at the ground.

"Total cliché moment right there!" Gar hooted as he rolled on the floor, laughing hysterically. Rachel turned around and covered her giggles with her hands. Richard gave Gar a fierce glare but only succeeded in making him laugh harder from the cherry-red complexion of his face.

"Are you -cough- okay –cough- Kory?" Rachel tried to say through giggles.

"I am fine," Kory glared hotly back, "thanks to friend Richard." She then faced Richard and smiled gratefully at him, "Thank you very much! And uhm…" she looked shyly away and started fidgeting with her hands, "Sorry about kissing you… not that it was not pleasant of course!" Kory looked up abruptly and saw that Richard was grinning delightfully down at her.

Gar finally picked himself up and sighed contentedly, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye, "Man wait until Victor hears about this!" Richard paled at the thought of all the teasing, blackmail and ridicule, and then frowned, glowering at Gar.

"You tell and I'll tell them about the Mega Meaty Meat part-time thing." Richard smirked as Gar flinched.

"Fine," he muttered his agreement.

"Meaty Meat?" Rachel repeated curiously raising an eyebrow.

"You do NOT want to know," Gar told her somberly.

They took the stairs to the west wing's top floor and made their way to the staircase at the end of that hall; Richard and Kory quietly chatting with a light blush still on their faces; as Rachel said, the floor was only for bedrooms over and the like. Then they moved to the bottom floor.

* * *

"This is the game/entertainment room," Rachel stated, pulling open the first white door to the left of the hallway; inside was a room twice as big as Gar's guestroom.

To the right the room was filled with bookcases labeled for their respective consoles holding large quantities of video games, all types of controllers, handhelds and three 120 inch plasma T.V.s; beneath them was an Xbox 360 Elite, a PlayStation 3, and a Nintendo Wii. At a corner were piles of unopened boxes of other consoles. To the left was the latest surround sound stereo system, giant speakers and another T.V, 150 inches, but it was hooked up to 5 pads for what looked like a dance game.

"Dude! You have all the latest and freakin' best games in here!" Gar shouted with childish glee as he jumped from T.V to T.V., bookcase to bookcase; Richard only stood inspecting the video games on the shelves with a small smile. The girls just stood back by the door watching in amusement.

_Boys._ Rachel thought with a roll of her eyes. Suddenly Gar was standing in front of her, looking down into her eyes with his own radiating excitement. She took this time to shortly examine his eyes; they were more of a slightly bluish aquamarine than green, outlined with a dark, almost black, emerald hue. They were deep and enticing, but were guarded heavily at a certain depth. _What could this goofball be hiding? _she mused.

"Who plays all these?" he asked merrily, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"No one actually, they're gifts from companies my dad works with. It's just for show really. You and Richard can play all of these if you want; it's soundproof so be as loud as you wish," she told the boys. Kory left Rachel and Gar, and walked over to Richard to converse, and turned away for privacy.

"Awesome! Thanks Rae!" Gar exclaimed and gave her a tight hug. Rachel tensed and Gar was wide-eyed after realizing what he had just done. He quickly let her go, jumping back several steps before the other two noticed and looked away.

"Sorry about that…" he trailed off, blushing then grinning at her sheepishly. Rachel reddened and turned away, starting for the door.

"It's fine," she said in quiet voice and called in a louder one to the others, "C'mon let's continue." Gar kept grinning and all followed her out.

* * *

"This is the living room," Rachel announced opening one of two large white double doors opposite to the game room; entering the boys saw the vast size of the room.

Inside was a large 200 inch plasma T.V. set in the middle of the wide white wall opposite of the door with a cable box and a surround sound stereo system. That was flanked on the left side by an extravagant fireplace, the right by 3 enormous windows stretching to the end of the wall displaying a beautiful garden, the first window above a mahogany table with a great variety of alcoholic beverages on top. Two comfy Italian armchairs sat by the hearth facing each other slightly; beyond the mahogany table was a vast, clear space for reasons unknown to them. The room itself was big and high enough to fit 4 adult elephants with several meters to spare... 2 long light brown couches faced the television with a coffee table in between them.

Paintings hung on the walls, mostly landscapes but one stood out from the rest; it hung on the same wall as the doors. It was of a beautiful woman greatly resembling Rachel, only more mature and with magenta coloured eyes, sitting with her hands on her lap on a bench below a great oak tree, smiling pleasantly.

She wore a simple, long-sleeved, knee- high white evening gown that faintly hugged her curves, matching her fair skin, slit on both sides halfway up her thighs. She was barefooted and her black hair - only a few inches shorter than Rachel's shoulder-length tresses - was worn down. The sky was filled with the vibrant colours of a magnificent sunset. Animals surrounded her and a falcon was on her shoulder. On the frame underneath the painting was a plaque reading "Angela Roth", beneath that, the name of the painting was also inscribed as "_Artemis._"

"Wow… is that your mom?" Gar asked in awe as they walked in and observed the painting.

"…Yes…" Rachel responded in a slightly dazed tone as she stared up at her mother's picture.

"Where is she?" Gar asked looking at her, taking no notice of the warning looks from Richard and Kory; Rachel turned to him with a stoic face.

"She died giving birth to me." She said this in such an emotionless voice that it nearly broke his heart, yet her eyes were showing hints of sorrow and... self-hatred. _Oh crap… way to go jackass! She must blame herself for that. Ugh… think… apologize!_

"S-sorry I… ugh… that was awful of me." he stuttered blushing.

"Its fine, you didn't know." Rachel said in monotone as she passed him and walked out the doors; Kory strode after her, Richard sighed and followed. Gar slouched and paused to glance at the portrait once more.

_You can really see the resemblance though, they're both stunning… I wonder if Rachel will be like her in a few years…_ Gar shook his head clear of his thoughts and mentally slapped himself. _Bad! No thinking that way! Bad Garfield! Well... No one can blame me..._ He shook his head again, dismissed it as teenage hormones and chased after his friends.

They went to the white door beside the game room and saw that inside was a sink, closet, gardening supplies and on the far side of the room, a sliding door made of glass. Outside was a beautifully landscaped garden filled with spring flowers on the vast expanse of earth.

"This is the garden and that's the greenhouse." Rachel told them.

They walked out to the back of it, till the tall, white fence surrounding the whole perimeter of the estate and into a huge greenhouse populated with lush tropical looking plants, trees and flowers.

"No matter how many times I have visited here this is still my favourite place!" Kory exclaimed and dragged Richard all around the building by the hand, pointing to flowers and smelling them while Richard had a small, content smile playing on his lips as he was careened off to see every single plant.

"Wow… this is incredible…" Gar said in admiration and added in such a quiet voice that Rachel had to strain her ears to hear, "like the African Jungle…"

_Jungle? _She repeated Gar's words in her head.

Rachel and Gar were by a group of some kind of Lamiaceae, observing them individually. She was closely studying a Calamintha, a type of mint; aflower she especially loved, shadowed but beautiful. Though of course Gar had no knowledge of it whatsoever... or so she thought.

"Hmm… I love these… especially this species," he pointed to her favourite flower, leaning over it as he sat on his heels beside her - very close to her face in fact, and she turned away trying to hide her profuse blush. But he took no notice and said in a daze, "Calamintha right? The plant type Herbaceous perennial, commonly known as 'showy calamint'; they are tolerant to drought, smell like Tutti-frutti mint and were originally found in Europe… America and ugh…"

"…Asia… They're native to Europe, America and Asia." Rachel repeated in awe looking back at him, Gar nodded still lost in thought. "Where did you learn that?"_ He doesn't seem like someone interested in Botany…_

"My parents… they studied plants and animals in…" then he suddenly snapped his head up catching himself, "they - they… ugh" he scoured his mind for the cover up story in a hurry, changed it to fit his mistake and blurted it out, _Richard is sooo gonna kill me…_ "Theyweresceintistsbuttheywentoverseasand…" Rachel was startled by his sudden outburst and was befuddled when his eyes darkened with the same emotion hers had, sorrow and self-hatred. Fake story or not, the thought of his parents' death obviously still saddened him.

_I was there! I shouldn't have let them get into that boat! I could have…have…_ He shook his head of his grim thoughts, _There's no time to think about that now. _Then he continued sadly but calmly, "They went overseas to Africa to do research and while driving back to their hotel they got caught in a storm… a landslide happened as they were driving and…" he trailed off.

"Sorry…" Rachel started to apologize but Gar held up his uninjured hand and smiled tiredly at her.

"It's fine Rae," she'll let that slide… for now, "it's only fair since I asked about your mother; I guess it kinda makes us even." Rachel returned his smile.

They were once again inside the living room and Kory glanced at the digital clock displayed on the cable box, 7:35pm.

"Oh dear! I need to go home and pick up my things for the party of slumber! I shall be right back!" she started for the door but Richard caught her by the arm.

"Wait, can you give me a lift back to the café? I came there on my motorcycle but I left it at the parking lot and went with you guys in your car. Plus, I need to get my stuff from my hotel," he asked urgently. Kory nodded yes.

"We will be right back!" and they were gone.

"Be quick," Rachel snapped, obviously a bit annoyed.

"Bye, hurry!" Gar called after them.

* * *

**Next up:** Robin and Starfire ALONE in a car. Raven and Beast Boy alone in the ROOM. The "party of slumber" and very... interesting turn of events.


	8. Chapter 8

**An Heiress and A Runaway**

**Chapter 8, Hope found in Storms**

**Disclaimer:** I do NOT own Teen Titans.

**A/N:** Hello! Happy Halloween~! Oh and did I say "room" last chapter? I meant house!

Trick or Treat~!!

* * *

A while after Richard and Kory sped off in the silver mustang, Rachel moved to leave for her study and Gar alone in the living room.

"Tell me when they're back; I'll be in my study." Rachel told Gar, receiving only a grunt of acknowledgment as he continued to observe her mother's portrait.

She briskly made her way to the main twin staircases; on the way she noticed that her father had left her a note on the small table with a landline, just before the steps. Picking up the small white paper with neat cursive writing - greatly resembling her own script, only hers was a mix of print and cursive – a habit from switching between both so frequently- she read it silently to herself. It said:

_Dear Rachel,_

_Unfortunately I had a sudden urgent business trip I had to attend to. I will be back for your party but will be gone for the remainder of the weekend and most likely the rest of the moth. I instructed the head maid to stay and supervise you and your guests for your… gathering tonight._

_Love,_

_Tyler Roth._

Rachel smirked as she imagined her father's grimace as he wrote down that last sentence. _Bet no one ever thought that he was _such _a doting father.

* * *

_

There was an awkward silence filling the car as both occupants remembered that accidental kiss and they were both blushing slightly. Richard was avoiding looking at Kory as much as possible by looking out the window, without much success. Kory was not having much luck either, she forced herself to focus on the road but neither could help occasionally glancing at the other. It was going to be a long 25 minute ride.

"So…" Richard drawled as the light turned red. "How long have you known Rachel?" He turned to face her.

"I met friend Rachel in our freshman year… it turned out that we had all of our classes together!" Kory smiled warmly at the memory.

"I was still very new to the country and she helped me with everything!" She continued, still smiling. "Though she did not get along very well with all the others... Rachel always seemed… distant. But I knew instantly that she was to be my best friend; she was very reluctant at first but I proved myself trustworthy and she and I have come to each other's aid and company since!"

She finished as the light turned red again and turned to Richard, who was giving her a small but warm smile. _She's just so innocent, it's cute! But she has this thing about her… I can't quite put my finger on it._ Before he could ponder any longer, Kory continued the conversation.

"How did you meet friend Garfield?" Kory asked in return.

"Ah well, we met…" he hated to lie to her, he really did but what could he do? His friend's and many others' life was on the line; so he told her the _official_ story.

"We met 2 years ago in Gotham City, he just happen to help me out in a fight and—" but Kory interrupted him.

"A fight?" she inquired with apprehension.

"Yeah, I was kind of getting mugged, though I was kicking their asses soon enough. But one slipped behind me while his friends distracted me. He was about to hit me over the head with a crowbar but Gar knocked him out and helped me take care of the rest. He…" the light turned green and Kory had to focus back on the road but gestured for him to continue, "he had nowhere to go and I owed him one so I convinced him to stay with me and my other best friend, Victor, and the rest are history." This was partly the truth, though Gar hardly needed his financial help as it said in the _official _record for Garfield James "Bestia". (**A/N: Piece it together with Tyler's investigation on "Bestia" and the rest will be revealed as we go on.)**

Kory nodded thoughtfully, taking in the information but was not at all astounded with the fact that Gar was an orphan; as far as she was concerned that was nothing to be shocked about.

They chatted about nothing in particular as they kept driving to the café and did not notice the clouds slowly creeping through the skies, shadowing the lands below.

"So you're from Romania?" Richard asked just as they stopped at another red light.

"Yes, it's a magnificent country!" Kory beamed. "And you are from Gotham?"

"Yup; okay, what's your favorite color?"

"Pink!" she immediately replied, Richard had to chuckle at that. "And yours?"

"Yellow. Do you have any siblings?"

"A little brother!" she replied happily but her tone faltered into an odd, out of place, flat tone, "and a big sister." The conversation halted into another awkward silence and they drove on when the lights turned green. It wasn't long until they drove past a couple of blocks and parked by Richard's bright red motorcycle.

"Okay just follow me," Richard said as he got onto the bike. H and Kory exchanged small smiles at each other through the open window.

Richard grabbed his helmet and secured it on and led her through the streets to a 6 story building. Just as they pulled over at the hotel, she noticed the sudden soft pitter-patter of raindrops on the windshield. Richard tapped on the passenger's window and she rolled it down; he had pulled his hood up to keep himself a little drier but was getting soaked as he stood in the gradually heavier rain.

"C'mon I think it's going to storm." He looked up at the heavy, grey sky and sighed. "Hard, and it won't be safe to try and drive back." Kory nodded reluctantly, got out of the car and rushed into the hotel with him.

They took the elevator to the 3rd floor and walked into Richard's room, 304, a large double suite. Both were soaked to the bone and tried to dry a bit with the hotel's towels.

Kory's hair was still damp, and her clothes dripped with water. While Richard's hair remained the same thanks to his hoodie, his clothes were making their own puddle on the carpeted floor by his door. He walked around the corner and into his room with Kory tagging along. She saw that there were two beds, one was probably for Gar, and that there was a large television set in front of them. Beside the T.V. was a beige door. The room was painted a soft red-violet color and had a desk/drawer and mirror at both corners next to the beds.

Richard went to the one on the far side of the room and took out 2 sets of clothes from the first drawer; he handed one to her, slightly blushing.

"Take these and change in the bathroom, I hope you don't mind that they're too big; I'll change here." Kory took them and Richard gestured to the beige door.

* * *

A few minutes later Kory emerged in Richard's over-sized plain white shirt and red basketball shorts that reached her knees. Richard was in a loose black T-shirt and dark blue shorts. He walked over to her and handed her the cordless phone.

"The storm could last all night so I think you should call Rachel. We'll get you a room afterwards, just in case." Kory nodded with disappointment and dialed Rachel's number.

* * *

"Rachel, wait up!" Gar called after her as he emerged from the door beside the left staircase connected to the west wing's bottom floor.

"What is it?" Rachel asked in her usual monotone, looking up from the note. Gar came beside her and suddenly grinned.

"You're not gonna leave your guest unattended are you?" he teased.

"You're not a child, you'll be fine. Don't bother me and if you need anything just call for the head maid, but she's probably sleeping by now."

"Can I at least stay with you? It's too weird to stay alone in such a large place while it's raining so hard." Gar pouted and gestured to the raging storm outside.

Rachel looked out the windowpane and sure enough, it was thundering and raining in hard, continuous sheets; the trees were bending and swaying in odd angles from the fierce gales. The rain pounded on the windows and battered at the sturdy walls while lightning flashed and filled the decorated room ominous shadows. She was a little surprised that she hadn't even noticed until he had pointed it out. It _had_ grown a bit cloudy when they exited the greenhouse a few minutes ago. _I guess we were all rather oblivious to the weather… the garden is going to be a disaster… I hope Kory can get back safely… and Richard of course._

She was still somewhat reluctant to trust the boys; sure, she kind of trusted Gar as he had saved her and all, and Richard was okay… but she was still very resistant to fully trusting them. The only reasons that she had let this "party of slumber" happen and Richard's staying was because of for Kory's sake and insistence; Gar living with them for the month was because of her gratitude towards him for the injury he had sustained rescuing and protecting her.

"Hope they'll be okay…" Gar voiced his (and her) thoughts quietly and snapped her out of her thoughts.

"They'll be fine. And you," Rachel turned to him, "you can go and play in the entertainment room." she said trying to reassure both Gar and herself, and immediately shook the worrying thoughts away. Then she turned away from the window and started upstairs.

"Please? I **hate** storms!" Gar put on a puppy-dog face but his voice held a certain grim sincerity and a frightened quality.

Rachel tuned to him, a bit startled by his tone. Then she saw his face… S_o cute! Oh God did I really just think that?! … b-but…. cute… _Rachel sighed resignedly. _Whatever… I'm tired and I just want to go and finish my book…_

"Fine. Whatever. Just stay quiet." Gar pumped a fist in the air and let out a loud whoop that echoed through the near empty house, but instantly covered his mouth at Rachel's glare.

Right then, the head maid, a middle-aged woman in a white uniform and graying hair, ran into the room with her coat and purse.

"Oh miss Rachel! It's terrible! I must go, my grandson's fever has gone up and his sister does not know what to do! May I please take the weekend off? Please?!" The woman was on the verge of tears and Rachel could not refuse her, so she gave a nod and the woman ran out the door yelling "Thank you! Thank you!" all the way out.

Then the telephone rang. Rachel picked it up and pressed it to her ear.

"Hello? …Kory?... Uh-huh, yeah…" her brows furrowed, "Okay then be careful… Yeah, bye, we'll see." she hung up the phone and sighed.

"That was Kory, she and Richard are stuck at the hotel; the storm is getting heavier and it's getting more dangerous to take the ride back from the hotel. So they can't do anything but wait it out."

"Aww… well, okay." Gar pouted but suddenly grinned mischievously. "I bet Richard is panicking since he's gonna alone with Kory the whole night. Since his hotel's gonna be packed because there are so many tourists this spring; we had to get reservations for that hotel! And when they can't get Kory a room... he is SO going to freak out!"

Rachel just rolled her eyes at him and started up the stairs while Gar only kept his grin as he followed her up the stairs to her study.

* * *

Gar marveled at all the books in the bookshelves of the extremely large room. There had only been two other instances when he had seen so many books: one was when he visited his parents' own private library and the other was a trip to the Library of Congress. AKA the only libraries he had ever visited.

"Wow…" he breathed.

Rachel went to the desk to the right and turned on the lamp for extra light in the dim room. All the curtains had been shut and the only sound was their footsteps and breathing accompanied by the soft pitter-patter of raindrops. She picked up the backpack she had left at the chair tucked into the table and placed in onto the desk, then took out a hardcover book, moved towards one of the many beanbags littered around the floor and motioned for Gar to do the same.

Rachel watched Gar reluctantly take the one a short distance across from her and then started her long awaited read.

* * *

It had been half an hour and Gar was getting restless; he was uncomfortable with the storm and he could only stay sitting still for so long! Rachel seemed to ignore him, lost in her book. Finally he decided that if he would have to stay like this, he would like to have at least some music to listen to.

"I'll be right back!" he told Rachel, who only nodded her head, her eyes still glued to the pages of her hardcover.

He rushed out of the study and into his room, opening the door and turning on the lights in one fluid motion; the lightning flashed and the loud rumble of thunder ripped through the air. He **hated** storms, hated them almost as much he hated _him._ The violent weather always gave him an uneasy feeling and brought back unpleasant memories, while the thought of _him _always filled him with dark loathing. He tore open the closet door, grabbed his bag slammed the closet door, the one to his room and the one to the study, then darted back to his seat. Panting. Heaving. Breathing raggedly.

Startled by the commotion, Rachel looked up from her book and saw the anxiety and distress painted on Gar's face. She promptly shut the book and quickly took the seat next to him. She had never seen such distress… on anyone, other than herself. Nor would she have ever guessed to see it on the usually carefree face of her rescuer. This fact alarmed her more than she would have liked to admit.

"Are you okay?" Rachel asked with unusual anxiety in her voice yet her expression stayed monotonous as she hesitantly patted Gar's back to comfort him. _I'm not one for this sort of thing… but what could be wrong…? _Her brows creased with thought and worry.

"I-I'm fine…" Gar was cut off at the sight of the sincere concern in her enchanting amethyst eyes, he sighed resignedly. "No… I'm not."

"Uhm… what's the matter?" Rachel asked with apprehension.

"It's well… the storm reminds me of my parents…" he replied, eyes downcast. _I can't believe I'm confiding in someone who's practically a stranger… but she has this thing about her… like you can just trust her. I guess I can at least get some of this off my chest._

"They… it was really stormy that night… so dark… I couldn't shake off this bad feeling and I was so scared… I-this-that's why I hate storms, it just reminds me of so much…" he trailed off and Rachel's stoic face softened little by little as he talked to her.

She had no idea what to say or do… so she just stayed and kept stroking his back. Little did she know that that was exactly what he needed… someone to stay, to comfort him with genuine concern, even if it was from someone who he had only known for less than a week. She blushed and carried on until he had dosed off… but his expression looked torn between content and uncomfortable.

Rachel looked him over and saw the problem: he was sleeping sitting up, with his head bent in an awkward angle. She pulled the beanbag from her other side and put it right in between them, making sure there were no gaps.

She laid Gar sound asleep over the makeshift bed and on her lap. Rachel stroked his soft hair absent mindlessly… unconsciously smiling softly and continued to read.

* * *

Hours past, but the storm raged on. Lightning flashed…

'BOOM!'

Thunder struck.

'CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!'

The eerie sound of splintering wood.

… silence…

'BZZZT'…

… And all was dark.

* * *

**A/N:** Soooo NOT over yet! I'm going to stretch this day out as far as it will go and that wasn't even the most interesting part!


	9. Chapter 9

**An Heiress and A Runaway**

**Chapter 9, Never Think Never! part 1  
**

**Disclaimer:** I do NOT own Teen Titans… I despise saying that!

**A/N:** Yay~ well here is another chapter for you guys to enjoy! Savor it because it might be awhile before I can update another… I have so much school work and a parade of projects... Plus life happens and is keeping me so busy! (Blacks out for a minute and pops back up) Alright enjoy!

* * *

He didn't like himself this way.

That he was scared of a damn storm like that little boy the he was so many years ago.

That daunting recollections caused him hysterics and grim remembrance.

That he trembled as the lightning flashed through the curtains and flinched at the thunder's cackle.

He despised that he shook as the dark, haunting memories rushed into his already frightened and confused head…

He barely registered her coming to sit beside him. He was so tired, so… spent… He craved the day when he could appear as his original self once again and put that _bastard _in his place!

… Just so he could stop the nightmares.

He remembered all the nights similar to this one… as a child his solution to the fear was to cower under his bed, hiding himself with a fragile fort of pillows and blankets. But now, now he couldn't. It just wasn't an option. Now he could only lay restless on his bed wide awake, warily watching the ominous shadows cast by the blinding flashes of lightning, still hugging his sheets like they were a lifeline to his sanity.

No one knew of this.

He refused to let anyone see him, the cheery, outgoing class clown so depressed and worn. So he always locked his door and stayed in unwanted silence.

When sleep finally claimed him on these restless nights, he was plunged into grim remembrance. Nightmares formed from harsh memories of a night long past... Never would he let anyone see him, yet here he was being a wuss, in front of a stunning girl who he happened to be developing a crush on no less!

"Are you okay?" he heard Rachel ask, her voice laced with angst. He paid it no attention and continued to stare blankly ahead, her presence tearing at his pride.

"I-" he heard himself start to say, so he forced his gaze to turn to her, "I'm fine…" he cut off at the sight of the sincere concern in her enchanting amethyst eyes, he sighed resignedly. "No… I'm not." _Damn those lovely eyes!_

"Uhm… what's the matter?" Rachel asked with apprehension.

"It's well… the storm reminds me of my parents…" He made himself reply, it was gloomy but it was a reply. _I can't believe I'm confiding in someone who's practically a stranger… but she has this thing about her… like you can just trust her. I guess I can at least get some of this off my chest. Oh please God… I'm going to go insane like this…!_

"They… it was really stormy that night… so dark… I couldn't shake off this bad feeling and I was so scared… I-this-that's why I hate storms, it just reminds me of so much…" he trailed off and Rachel's stoic face softened little by little as he talked to her.

A comfortable silence, disrupted only by the storm's rumblings, settled in and he was suddenly aware of her gentle touch stroking his back. Sleep slowly claimed him and into his dreams… and into his dreaded nightmare. At least that's what he expected. It started like it usually did… happy…

'_Crunch' 'snap' 'crunch.' _

'_Crunch' 'snap' 'crunch.'_

'_Crunch' 'snap' 'crunch.'_

_ He was running through a lush green jungle, snapping twigs and rustling leaves. He could feel his legs dashing, racing towards his smiling parents with their picnic basket. They were going on a picnic!_

_ He ran, ran, ran and ran, but he wasn't getting any closer… the happy scene melted away like waves retreating from sandy shores. It was replaced by a fierce jungle being pelted by angry raindrops, flooded by muddy water. Ahead were his distraught parents, waiting for him to take their outstretched hands as they slowed to a jog, waiting for him to catch up._

_A few meters in front of them was a boat bouncing through the overflowing rivers with muddy brown rapids. Now only a few meters away, his legs started pumping harder to propel him closer to his loving parents… then all he could see was the ground rushing at him. He tripped...he tripped over a tree root… always the same damn thing!_

_Someone picked him up, he didn't like this man; he had a creepy vibe, and so he struggled. _

"_Mom! Dad!" He cried, reaching for his distressed parents, but his tiny voice was drowned out by the brutal winds._

"_Go! I got him!" The man carrying him shouted successfully over the harsh weather. His parents reluctantly rushed to the boat, his mom boarded it to start up the engine while his father waited for him with open arms… thinking that their – supposed – friend would bring his son to him._

_ The man ran clumsily through the rough terrain, closing the distance between them and the anxious couple. _

_ His hand was just an inch from his parent's hand when he was suddenly jerked back, his father kicked into the bobbing boat by the man carrying him. The same man unexpectedly hit him hard on the temple with something blunt and threw him at a nearby tree – winding him as he slammed against the unyielding bark. His dream-self slowly faded into unconsciousness… he watched helplessly as the man stalked the boat, knife in hand towards his parents. The man drew his knife-wielding hand up and—_

_ The scene abruptly faded away to reveal him lying down on his mother's lap, her warm hands caressing his messy blonde hair. Chatting in whispers with her husband sitting beside them on the picnic blanket... He was a bit taken back by the change but reveled in the comfort of parental love. The great tree they were under providing cool shade against the brightly shinning sun. The blue skies—_

'BOOM!'

He felt himself again.

Gar jumped into a defensive stance, looking around with bewildered eyes, his gaze fell upon the startled Rachel.

"Dude! Wha—" He started but was drowned out by a:

'CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!'

He cringed at the uncanny noise.

… 'BZZZT'…

… And all was dark.

* * *

"Friend Rachel said it is fine, and to be careful and to observe for suitable weather for driving back to her home." Kory sighed as she hung up. She had really been looking forward to their party of slumber.

"You should call your parents now; tell them that you're stuck at Etoile Hotel because of the storm. We'll go get you a suite after. Okay?" Richard asked Kory, she nodded and dialed once more.

"Hello? … Yes father, I am well… I am stuck at Etoile Hotel for tonight… I was going to stay with friend Rachel but… because it is too dangerous to drive in this harsh weather… Yes… Yes, I'll be careful… Goodnight father." She ended the call and handed it back to Richard.

"Alright let us go get us a room of sweets!" Kory beamed and rushed for the door when Richard noticed something sure to raise unwanted rumors and blushed.

"Uhm… Kory?" she turned back to him and he shifted his eyes to look at anything but her. "Why don't I go instead? I don't think it's a good idea to go out there with my clothes on." Kory blushed as well and nodded.

"I understand… Please inform them to send the bill to the Anders' estate." She added but Richard finally looked back at her and shook his head.

"No I'll take it. It's my fault we're stuck here anyway." Richard walked to the door and smiled at her as he passed.

She smiled back but took a hold of his forearm - like he had done before at Rachel's house – and gave him a lingering kiss on the cheek.

"That is to say thank you friend Richard, it is very kind of you to do so." Richard grinned goofily and hurried to the door.

* * *

To say that the lobby was packed would be an understatement. The whole room was abuzz as it swarmed with people and tourists struggling to get to the front desk, each of them yelling out their problems.

Richard nimbly worked his way through the rowdy crowd to the front and slammed down his platinum gold credit card.

"One suite please!" He shouted over the ruckus.

"I'm sorry sir! I'm afraid that all the rooms are occupied!" the manager replied at equal volume and handed him back his card.

"But I—" his protest was lost as he was shoved to the back of the line.

Richard sighed and took the stairs, with the elevator already being overused. On his trek he nervously started analyzing the situation. His attraction to his new acquaintance was already getting to him… _Okay, calm down, assess the situation calmly. Alright two major problems:_

_One- Can't get back to Rachel's house._

_Two- Alone with Kory._

_ Alright good not many negatives, now the positives:_

_One- We're safe and dry._

_Two- There is two beds in the suite._

_Three- …Hmm, what else? ...Alone with Kory…?_

"…" He paused his climb a moment and started again.

_ Let's try that again…_

_Three- … Alone with Kory in one suite with her wearing my clothes…?_

"I have got to get my head out of that hormonal gutter…" Richard continued muttering incoherently to himself all the way back to his room.

* * *

"Friend Richard! Which room have you selected for me?" Kory skipped happily to him as he entered.

"Uhm… welltheydon'thaveanymoreroomsoyou're," he said, his explanation getting faster and faster, "theydon'thaveanymoreroomsoyou'reprobablygoingtohavetouseGar'sbedbutheisatRachel's..."

"Friend Richard!" Kory tried to get his attention.

"…..."

"Friend Richard!!" she said giggling and covered his mouth. "Are you alright?"

He blushed and nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Kory removed her hand and smiled brightly at him.

"Good! But I understand that there are no more rooms?" Richard nodded.

"Then may I take the extra bed?" He nodded again.

"Joyous, we may still commence with the party of slumber!" Kory exclaimed merrily and hopped on the bed meant to be hers - the one closest to the door.

"What shall we do first?!" she cheerfully asked Richard as he walked towards his own bed.

Richard frowned and looked at the clock, _8:14 pm_. "I think we should take a shower, we'll catch colds while we're so cold like this." Kory pouted but nodded.

"You can shower first, if you want." He continued Kory shook her head and smiled.

"No, I wish to take a long shower and I do not wish to be an inconvenience you. So please, go first." She smiled sweetly and ushered him into the bathroom.

"Okay…?" Richard managed to say before Kory shut the door.

"On second thought and I will be gone for a few minutes, I wish to park my car in the underground place of parking." She said to him over the door after a few moments.

The door opened slightly and a keycard poked out. "Here take it, show it to the guard there… and if you don't mind, could you ask him to move my motorcycle in there as well?"

"I do not mind," Kory heard him give a sigh of relief, and giggled as she took it from him.

Richard heard the jingle of her car keys and the door to the suite shut and proceeded to take a shower.

* * *

10 minutes later, Richard didn't hear Kory come in yet so he just came out with a towel around his waist. _It's going to be a long, cold night._ He thought with a sigh.

10 more minutes had past… Richard sat on his bed in the same black shirt but with sweatpants and his sunglasses, feeling slightly worried. _Where is she? She should be back by now it, doesn't take twenty minutes to park a car…_ _Did something happen? _He could feel his anxiety rising and he quickly shot up from his seat and rushed to his door.

He had just stomped into his dry pair of sneakers when the door opened to reveal a very soaked, very tired looking Kory covered in mud and leaves. Her usually perfect posture slumped in exhaustion, her hair plastered onto her still gorgeous face – even with her generally cheery face frowning and annoyed. In her hands were his keycard and car keys, both caked with dirt.

Richard stared at her in shock as she trudged angrily past him, threw the items on the floor beside him and into the bathroom, leaving a trail of muddy footprints.

He blinked stupidly for a few moments until he heard the shower running. He got up and took a seat on his bed again, wondering how she ended up in such a state. _Okay…? How'd that happen?_

* * *

Richard was in the same spot 30 minutes later when she poked her head out the door, he saw that she was blushing prettily and sat silently, curiously staring at her, head tilted to the side.

Kory saw how he was looking at her and thought he looked rather cute like that. She blushed even deeper.

"Friend Richard…?" she called apprehensively.

"Yes?"

"Do you have another set of clothes I could borrow? I'm sorry, but I got first ones very muddy." He watched as her silky red hair swayed as she talked.

"Yeah, and its okay," Richard got up and got her more clothes from his drawer and walked back towards her. "Here, close the door and I'll leave them in front of it and then turn around." He blushed a bit as he said the last part and they proceeded as he said.

It seemed that he was going to blush a lot with this girl. He heard the bathroom door close and turned to it. His stomach started growling.

"Are you hungry?" He asked her through the door as he rubbed his tummy.

"Hmm, yes I am actually."

"'Kay, I'll get room service. What would you like?"

"I do not know… what would you recommend?"

"Sure… how about something simple? … Pizza!"

"Alright," Kory stepped out the bathroom door with a cheery smile, "as long as I get a bottle of mustard… please!" she added, remembering her manners.

"Sure…" he drawled.

He shrugged it off, dialed 4 for room service and pressed the phone to his ear.

"Hello? ...Yes, a pack of soda and pizza please… One moment," he covered the mouthpiece. "What kind?"

Kory looked thoughtful for a second, "Hmm… I cannot choose."

"How's mushroom with bacon and extra cheese?" she nodded.

Richard uncovered the phone and repeated their order… and, upon Kory's insistence, Richard's curiosity, and the man on the other end's wonder, for two bottles of mustard and a straw.

The pizza was made directly in the hotel's kitchen so it (and the mustard) arrived in about twenty minutes. They thanked and generously tipped the employee and sent him on his way.

"C'mon let's eat this in the kitchen." Richard inclined his head towards a beige door close the corner out of the room that Kory hadn't really noticed at her arrival.

They took the food, beverages… and condiments to the completely white kitchen, with the exception of the stainless steel, and planned out Kory's stay. Or "party of slumber" as she phrased it. She was completely oblivious to the fact that she was alone with a guy in a hotel room, while Richard's head buzzed about it.

He had had been in many relationships, all beautiful girls, girls that guys would kill for. But Kory, Kory was drop dead gorgeous! Not one - except maybe Rachel Roth, but she wasn't his type - not one of his previous… acquaintances could compare to the exotic woman in front of his eyes… she was innocent and naïve, something uncommon in his world. Something he adored and envied about her… then he mentally slapped himself.

No.

He _wasn't_ falling in love.

_Never._

People just get _hurt_ when they fall in love.

People just get _disappointment_ when they love.

Love, he decided long ago, was not worth it. So he pushed all thoughts of it away and focused on the conversation once more.

"… then we should watch a movie." Kory finished and took a sip of her mustard. He nodded as if he had actually listened.

"So why the mustard?" he asked with raised eyebrow.

"I just find it delicious!" she beamed and took another sip through the straw. Richard sweat-dropped but nodded anyway.

"So movie?"

"Yes!"

"Alright, we'll order one. Let's eat the pizza while we watch." She nodded and they stood up and walked back into the room.

"What do you want to watch?"

"What would you recommend?"

"How do you feel about scary movies?"

* * *

8 minutes later they were getting settled in their own individual beds, each with half of what was left of the pizza, Richard with his soda and Kory with her mustard. The lights were off, so that the only light came from the TV.

The screen went black and "Axes and Saws II" was slowly etched into it with blood, eerie music building up the suspense.

* * *

**(****A little more than halfway through the movie...)**

*****************************xXxXxXxXxXxXx*****************************

'**Bang!' the screen showed a masked man suddenly knock down the door just as the couple in the movie started to foolishly make out in a dark room as they hid from their mystery attacker.**

'**Rrrrrrrrrr!'**

**The masked man had a bloody axe in his left hand and a roaring saw in his right.**

** The two men circled each other, the young man, Jack, standing protectively in front of his fiancé, Carina, guiding her to move with him. They now had the only exit, the door, in between each other. He gave Carina a glance over his shoulder signaling her to run for it and then lunged at his opponent.**

** She ran, ran, and ran down the seemingly infinite flight of stairs – they had only been on the second floor – when she heard glass breaking and 2 thuds, one a sickening thump and splash, the second an uncanny sound that was too muffled to accurately tell.**

'**Thwack!'**

**She warily went out to her backyard pool.**

"**Aaaah!!!" the high pitched scream came from the speakers.**

"**Jack!" Carina had just found her lover's beheaded corpse sprawled out on the tiled flooring covered with shards of glass, one arm submerged in the water.**

Richard took a peek at Kory, her pretty features set in a frown but showed no sign of being scared at all. She finished her last slice of pizza, set her plate down on the floor and laid back into her pillows. He was greatly impressed, _Most girls would be screaming at a headless corpse…_ he had long ago finished his own snacks and turned his attention back to the movie just in time to see the guy's head float up to the surface.

**Jack's dead eyes stared back at the camera, his head bobbing in the water, messy brown hair spread about it. Carina reached out for it while a pair of hands reached out for her and—**

'BOOM!'

Kory screamed and jumped from her bed to Richards just as he was about to stand so they fell abruptly on his pillows, the mattress bouncing and his ears ringing as Kory continued to scream.

'CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!'

The eerie sound of splintering wood.

She had him in a vice-like grip, but had stopped her yelling.

… silence…

'BZZZT'…

The TV screen turned black and all was dark.

* * *

**A/N: **Fanfiction turned weird on me and started messing with the text format so my apologies if it was a bit confusing. Thanks again to my beta reader, Somewhere in Time, for the awesome ideas and I'll be sure to play with those for a bit. lol And ah, sorry about all the cliffies, I couldn't resist! I personally don't like them, being a frequent reader and all, but I actually turned out to be pretty good at writing them. -shrugs- Kind of ironic.


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